Whistle-actuating apparatus



Aug. 4, 1925- 1,548,299

A. l. WOODRING WHISTLE ACIIIUATING APPARATUS Filed June 25. .1924 2 sheets-sheet 1 In vendor, A I. Woodring, 6y

ALBERTO I. W'OODRING. OF "WATERL-QQ ICU/"A, ASSTGNOR T0 NATIONAL SAFETY DE- VICES GUIIEIALTY, OE WMTERLQO, IOVIA.

WVEIISTIiE-CTUATING APPARATUS.

Application filed. June 3,

To all 207mm may concern:

Be it known that I, Annnnro T. VVoonnine, citizen of the United States, residing at \Vaterloo, in the county of Black Hawk and State of Iowa have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lVhistle-Actuating Apparatus, of which the foliowing is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in whistle actuating apparatus. and rticularly to means for producing dot nined signals as in approaching a highway crossing, when the apparatus is mounted on a vehicle and constructed for operation by means of a fluid under pressure.

This improvement is also related to the subject matter of my apparatus patent d in the United States on September 1922, No. 1,430,273.

I have accomplished the said object by the means which a hereinafter described and claimed, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. in which 1 is a front elevation of my improved device for actuating whistles by means of fluid under pressure, with parts broken away. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the operating valve therefor with parts in elevation. 3 is a vertical section, on an enlargec. scale of the starting motor and the delivering valvechamber with adjacent structures as taken on the broken line 33 of 4;, and t is a vertical section on the same scale of said parts taken at a right angle to Fig. 3 and on the broken line i-t thereof.

This device is designed for use on a vehicle, such as an electrically or otherwise propelled car on which is carried a supply of fluid under pressure such as compressed air, the latter being utilized in the actuation of the device and also in the actual sounding of a whistle or other audible signal on approaching a highway crossing.

The numeral 11 denotes a reservoir of fluid under pressure having a pipe in communication with the inlet-port 8 of a manually operable valve-device. This "alvedevice comprises a valve-chamber 2 made of separably connected parts containing upper and lower chambers with the dividing septum provided with an apertnred passage and valve-seat to receive the vaned stem 6 of a valve-head 7, the latter being positioned in the lower chamber. The inlet-port 8 com municates with the lower chamber, and an the tip of the stem. Upon the valve-chamher body is fixed a bracket member upon which is terminally pivoted at 3 an operating handle 1 having a cam edge to work against the rounded tip of the stem 4i to depress the latter.

A valve-chamber il and a starting motor cylinder 1%- are made integral with a casting body adapted for: fixed suspension on an overhead support. The middle part of said body has a spring barrel hollow 27. A. rockshaft 28 is centrally mounted in said spring barrel and in a bearing aperture in a bearing body 56 there). and has a terminal cranked part 30 within a dash-pot 29. A

connecting-rod 31 connects said crankedpart 30 to plunger 32 pivoted to the lower end of the rod. Said plunger has a passage 33 contracted at its upper end to furnish a valvl-seat for a: ball check-valve 84:.

ing thereagainst to dampen the action of a coiled spring 28 which is positioned in the barrel 27 and connected between the hub 21 of a face-plate disk 21 and the inner wall of the spring-barrel. The disk 21 and its hub are adjustably secured upon the shaft .13 for circumferential adjustmenttherearound by means of a removable dentated plate 24 secured on the disk and meshing with teeth of a rack-disk 22 secured upon the outer extremity of the shaft 23.

The cylinder 14 has heads 57 and 58, the latter apertured for the passage therethrough of the stem 17 of an imperforate packed plunger 15, and a spring 16 mounted on said stem damps the plunger in one direction. A connecting-rod 19 is pivotally connected at 18 to the projecting end of said stem and at 20 to the disk 21. The cylinder has an inlet-port 13 communicating with the conduits 12-10 which lead into the deliveryport 9 of the operating-valve body 2.

The cylindrical valvechamber 41 has heads 59 and 62, both centrally apertured, the head. 59 receiving an end of a pipe 53 The dash-pot may contain ollthe plunger workwhich leads to the whistle 54. In the right hand part of the valvechamber 41 is inserted a section 46 having a port in communication with the reservoir 11 by way of conduits 63 and 55. The section 16 has a hollow whose left-hand end is closed by a screwplug 60. The right-hand end of said section 46 has a hollow std communicating with a passage into said hollow 50, one end of said passage having a valve-seat to which is fitted a valve-head 48 on a stem whose parts project oppositely therefrom, one through said passage and hollow l and the other through the hollow 50 surrounded by a coiled spring 61. A by-pass 15 leads from the hollow -14 through the section d6 into the hollow of the valve-chamber. The righthand cylinder-head 62 is centrally apertured and reciprocable member 12 therein has a salveseat to fit the rounded extremity of the valve-stem 47.

Referring now to said Fig. 1, upon the end of a fined bracket is pivoted at its upper end :1. depending swinging arm 36. Another swinging arm 38 has its outer entremity pivoted to the lower part of the arm 36 and limited in downward movement by a stop on the latter, and the free end of the arm 38 has a small roller 39 rotatably mounted thereon to lie in the path of movements to and fro of two spaced pairs of detents 25 and 26 on the margin of the rockdisk 21. The lowermost pair of detents 25 are the same circumferential breadth, while the upper pair 26 are of smaller breadth with like intervals.

Operation: As it is required that a certain whistle signal be sounded before ar rival at a highway crossing, the detents 25 and 26 are proportioned in breadths and in spacing to effect an intermittent sounding of the Whistle 54 by the intermediate mechanisms above described as detailed in my said patent. lVhen the operator depresses the handle 1 manually the cam edge thereof pushes downwardly the plunger-stem 4 to close the bore thereof and push down the valve-stem 6 and valve 7 to out off communication between said bore and the upper chamber, while opening the valve '7 against the spring below to eflect communication be tween the ports 8 and 9, so that fluid under pressure may pass into the cylinder 14. The plunger 15 in said cylinder is thus pushed to the right so that by means of the connecting-rod 19 the disk 21 is rocked downwardly for a distance, so that the detents 25 and 26 in succession engage the roller 39 and swing the levers 3836 to the right, so that the finger 10 on the lever 36' pushes the member 4-2 to the left. This member pushes the valve-stem 4. to the left opening the valve 18 against the spring 61, so that fluid under pressure is allowed to pass through the communicating passages to the chamber hollow 51 where it in turn enters the pipe 53 and operates the whistle The signal is thus intermittently given as required with a regular and exact sequence and timing.

V-Fhen the operating handle 1 is released, the reaction of the spring in the lower hollow of the chamber body 2 litts and closes the valve 7, shutting oii the communication between the ports 8 and 9. Residual fluid under pressure in the upper hollow of the boy 2 and in the cylinder 1 1 then exhausts through the bore 01? the lifted valve-stem l, as the plunger on the latter is first moved away from the stem (3 by air pressure from below. The spring 16 in the cylinder 1d reacts to return the plunger 15 and its stem 1? whereby the connecting-rod l9 rocks the disk 21 reversely, the roller and arm 38 swinging idly without moving the arm 36. its in this position of the arm 36 the finger 40 has released the member 12, the spring 6.1 in the chamber hollow 50 returns the valve is cutting off communication between the port 19 and the chamber hollow 51. The latter has (BXHIUSlIGCl its fluid pressure by way of said whistle.

It is to be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, and that the apparatus may employ any desired fluid or flowing material, including steam or otherwise, and may be operated on any kind of device mounted for transportation, whether road or rail vehicles, cars, or otherwise.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. An audible signaling device in communication with and ope able by a source of fluid under pressure, a valvular device within and controlling said coinn'iunication. and resiliently controlled mechanism oi which certain elements are also within said communication and operatively associated with said valvular device to actuate it with a determined sequence ot actuations oft' determined periods.

2. An audible signaling device in communication with and operable by a source of fluid under pressure, a valvular device con trolling said communication, mechanism of which certain elements are also within said communication and ope *atively associated with said valvular device to actuate it with a determined sequence of actuations of determined periods, and a resiliently controlled starting motor for said mechanism.

3. An audible signaling device in communication with and operable by a source of fluid under pressure, a valvular device controlling said communication, mechanism of which certain elements are also within said communication and operatively associated with said valvular device to actuate it with a determined sequence of actuations of determined periods, a resiliently controlled starting motor in independent communication With said source of fluid under pressr'lre, and a manually operable resiliently coutrolled valvular device controlling the lastmentioned communication for an initial actuation of said starting motor.

4. An audible signaling device in communication with and operable by a source of fluid under pressure, a valvular device Within and controlling said communication, mechanism partly Within said communication operatively associated with said valvular device to actuate it with a determined sequence of actuations of determined periods, aresiliently controlled starting motor in independent communication with said source of fluid under pressure, and a manually operable resiliently controlled valvular device, controlling the last-mentioned communication for an initial actuation of said starting motor, said operative mechanism including resiliently controlled means for resetting the same after operation.

5. In combination, a source of fluid under pressure, a Whistle signaling device operable only by fluid pressure, and communica ting with said source mechanism for intermittently actuating said device including :tluid operated starting motor resiliently controlled, a valvular device Within said communication and actuated by said start ing motor intermittently to admit fluid under pressure to said signaling device, said valvular device including resilient means also Within said communication for resetting it after operation, and a manually actuated valvular device in operative association With said starting motor containing means for resetting it after actuation, automatically.

l/Vaterloo, Iowa, June 6, 1924.

In testimony whereof I afilx my signature.

ALBERTO I. VVOODRING. 

